This invention relates to apparatuses for washing vehicles, and more particularly to brushless vehicle washing apparati.
Over the years a number of car washing devices have been suggested. Typifying these prior art devices are those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,699,792, 3,299,901, 3,422,827, 3,529,611 and 3,844,480. These prior art car washing devices have met with varying degrees of success.
With the high cost of new automobiles these days, owners now prefer brushless car washes that do not touch or scratch their automobiles, and preserve the finish. Such an apparatus includes nozzle assemblies which, for example, comprise a plurality of circumferentially spaced nozzles. The nozzle assemblies are rotatable by the force of liquid under pressure sprayed through the nozzles. The nozzles are carried by a carriage which moves along a track assembly which is secured to a building structure or other overhead support. An automobile to be washed is driven into a bay defined by a track assembly. When the automobile is properly positioned, the carriage is driven along the track, relative to the automobile. Wash and rinse liquids under pressure are supplied to the nozzle assembly through the use of a swivel union and flexible conduit.
The prior art car washing apparatuses have stationary rails, that do not adequately wash automobiles. Compact cars, sub-compact cars, mini-vans, and other non-standard sized automobiles are not adequately washed because the stationary rails are designed only for one standard sized automobile. Accordingly, in the case of non-standard or odd sized automobiles, the rear and passenger side are not adequately cleaned because the rear portion and passenger side of the automobile are located farther away from the water spraying devices and scrubbers than the front and drivers side of the automobile, thus the rear and passenger side are adequately washed. Moreover, the prior art automobile washing apparatuses require only one dispensing device and specific swivel unions and flexible conduits are required for supplying cleaning and rinsing liquids, and power to the nozzle assembly. Such swivel unions frequently leak, freeze up, or break down prematurely, thereby causing enormous maintenance costs.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved vehicle washing apparatus and process which overcomes most, if not all, of the above problems.